Scars of the Body and Heart
by jnk4eva
Summary: Prince Zuko has finally captured the Avatar, but he still has not forgotten the love he left behind the day he was sent into exile... my first completed fanfic!


**I do not own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender**

Scars of the Body and Heart

The Prince and his captives moved slowly up the river. Zuko rested his head against some lumpy flour sacks. Although his eyes were closed in fatigue, he remained quietly alert, sensing the movement of the prisoners in their cells next to him.

Katara wiped the bloody face of her dearest friend, Avatar Aang – passed out from exhaustion – from between the bars of her cell that adjoined his. Her brother's cell was on the other side, and he too had fainted from exhaustion. She was moved with grief, and continually whispered soothing words to Aang, even if he could not hear her.

"How much compassion you show to him," Zuko said quietly, his voice hoarse and his eyes still closed.

Katara was determined not to look at him. She bowed her head, saying, "That's what you do for someone you love."

"Those who wish to remain honorable show no love," Zuko whispered bitterly. His father's image flashed before his eyes.

Katara sat for a moment, thinking. "That's why you've done this," she said, "To regain your honor. But I do not believe you were devoid of love your whole life. Just like you haven't had that scar your whole life. Surely there was someone you longed to show your love too."

Zuko clenched his eyes shut tighter, fighting back the tears that burned behind them. Of course there was someone. He could never forget her face. "Her name was Marita."

Although this sudden show of emotion did surprise Katara, at the same time she could tell it had been built up for so long, and knew it would come bursting through his shallow dam eventually. As many times as she had come in contact with this ruthless prince, she always knew there was something more behind it all. "What was she like?" she asked quietly, still not looking at him.

"You remind me a lot of her, actually. Love, compassion, peace, innocence – these were all she ever wanted." For so long he had wanted to talk about her to someone; it was no surprise to him that he spoke this way so easily to another person now, after the Avatar was finally under his power once again. "And naturally she was beautiful, not just in the face, but she had the beauty that makes any face shine because it comes from within."

Katara smiled then, looking down at the face of her beloved Aang. Finally the Zuko she knew had been hidden for so long came through. "Would you have married her?" she asked him.

"If I hadn't been forced into exile…yes…" Zuko slipped into a peaceful dream, remembering the last time he saw the lovely Marita.

_Two and a half years earlier…_

The Canales family was one of the many families of nobility in the Fire Nation. Naturally when the war broke out almost a hundred years earlier, all the noble families had unanimously pledged their undying loyalty to the Fire Lord and his campaign to bring the other Elements under Fire Nation control.

But that did not stop young love from blossoming.

Young Marita Canales stood in the kitchen of her family's fine home. The back door swung open to reveal a younger, smiling, and scar-free Prince Zuko, her oldest and best friend. They had grown up together, had helped one another learn firebending, and naturally fallen in love with one another…

"Marita!" Zuko cried as he burst through the door. Marita beamed at him as he threw his arms around her tiny waist and spun her around the room.

"Zuko, how much you're smiling! What has happened?" she asked him.

"I was just informed by a guard that my father believes he's made a break-through in this war! Finally, we may have true peace and order. I'm going to my uncle Iroh, to ask if I may sit in on their war discussions," Zuko answered proudly.

"Peace," Marita repeated. "Almost a hundred years of anything but peace. The world needs change," she said, sadness filling her eyes.

"And there's something else, Marita," Prince Zuko said. "I love you."

The sadness of her eyes left instantly. She beamed again at her Prince as he knelt on the floor, holding her hands.

"No matter what happens, I want to be with you, forever…please, promise yourself to me," and he took from within his warrior's vest his promise brander.

Marita's amber eyes shot to the brander in Zuko's hands. Each young man in the Fire Nation was given one at birth to be presented to the girl he asked to marry. It was to be branded onto the girl's left forearm, and come their marriage it would disappear.

"Zuko, I love you too, but we're still so young…our families would never accept this at such a young age," Marita said timidly. Inside, her heart fluttered with excitement.

Zuko saw behind her concern. Smiling, he whispered, "But what about us?"

Marita broke into a smile. Zuko rose from the floor of the kitchen. He looked down at the brander; taking a sharp breath, his hands alit with fire, causing the brander to burn red hot. He gave the still cool handle of the brander to Marita, both still smiling.

"I must go, they will be starting soon. But I promise to return later tonight. Wait for me," he told her. Marita nodded, and he tenderly kissed her forehead, then left the house, glowing with happiness…

The small shipping boat lurched. Zuko's head was still pounding, and there was a ringing in his ears. He shifted himself into a more comfortable position, but to no avail.

"We have reached the city, Prince Zuko," he heard his uncle say. Zuko opened his eyes to see the concerned face of Iroh staring down at him. "Are you ready to present the Avatar to the Fire Lord?" Iroh asked.

Zuko looked over to the middle of the three cells where the Avatar lay, still unconscious. Now, however, his hand was locked with Katara's, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

He looked away. Why had it taken so long to realize what he truly wanted? He still longed to present the Avatar to his father, but would it be worth it if his love had forgotten him after these last two and a half years?

Zuko got up suddenly. Quickly but quietly he made his way to the loading door of the ship. "Prince Zuko, where are you going?" Iroh called after him. The sleeping prisoners awoke all at once, only to see the back of their capturer pass through the door onto the dock outside.

That would have to wait only another hour, he told himself. He had to see her first.

Silently, Zuko ran up the path he knew so well. It was close to midnight, but of course the city never really went dark. Hundreds of Fire Nation warriors were still out, filing through the narrow streets. If anyone were to see him, it would ruin all he had worked for.

As he neared the Canales house, his mind began to spin. Would she be able to see the Zuko she claimed to love behind this hideous scar? Had she ever branded herself, or had she changed her mind, forgetting him and taking the hand of another?

He was taken from such thoughts by the vision of the looming house before him. It was dark and silent. The only light to be seen came from the metal shed on the far side of the building. It was not like Marita to be out in the shed this late at night, but something told him that it was her inside.

Marita was sitting at a small wooden table, fixing some clothes that had been ripped the previous day. Zuko looked in through a small window at her figure, glowing in the light of the single candle that sat beside her. But Marita was not as frail and fragile as one would think. Although she continued her sewing, her frame became tense; she could sense the presence of someone at the window, looking in on her…

In a burst of flame Marita was on her feet, her hand stretched out before her in perfect form. Her look intense, she called to the now vacant window, "Show yourself, coward."

Resisting the sudden attack, Zuko had pressed himself to the side of the shed. But upon hearing the voice of his beloved calling him a coward, he burst into the shed.

"I am not, and never have been, a coward…" he said angrily.

Marita lowered her arm; she gazed in disbelief at the Prince that had been absent for so long. Zuko, in all his anger, noticed she was much thinner, yet her eyes still shone with the life he knew to be within.

"Zuko…" she whispered. She continued to stare for a few moments before realizing the clamor they had just made. Breathlessly she pulled him inside saying, "Quickly!"

The two stood in each other's presence for several minutes, saying nothing, not even looking at one another. Finally, "You captured the Avatar, then?" Marita asked quietly.

Zuko scowled and began to pace. "I'm not here to talk about the Avatar, or any part of this war for that matter," he said angrily. He stopped short in his pacing to look at her. "Obviously you're still living with your parents, you haven't gone to another home?"

Marita looked up at him. She narrowed her slender eyes. "What does it matter who I live with now?" She marched up to him then, looking at him coldly. "And why are you here if you haven't finally captured the Avatar? It's the reason for all the pain I've been forced to endure." She had begun to rub her left arm.

Zuko snarled. "Pain you've end-" and suddenly his family's name and insignia were before him, branded onto the tiny, pale arm of Marita. She lowered her arm, and he looked into her face. Tears were now streaming from her eyes.

"It hurts now more than ever," she whispered. "Only minutes after you left that day I burned my very flesh for you." Talking seemed to calm her down. She began to walk about the room. "I was filled with such happiness that the pain was minimal. And I eagerly awaited your return. But you never came again, huh?"

"We were both burned that day, if you haven't noticed," Zuko said angrily.

"Of course I've noticed," Marita replied in frustration. "I saw the very next day. I had assumed you had been detained that evening, and would surely come the next morning. I was out at the market, getting some supplies for my mother. My arm was still red from the burn, and I decided to wear long sleeves to hide it from everyone before you had come to call on me again. Then I saw you leave with your uncle and several guards trailing behind you, that burning mark across your face."

She slowly walked up to him, reaching out to touch the scar, but he pulled away.

"You never even said goodbye," she said sadly.

"I wanted to come, Marita, but I didn't have time, I was given the only way to regain my honor, and I had to set out immediately to begin my search…"

"Didn't have time for the girl you asked to burn herself with your family's name?" Tears had returned to her cheeks. "We were both lost into exile that day."

Zuko furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Marita sighed. She sat in her chair again, and motioned for Zuko to sit in the one beside her. He considered it for a moment before obliging, although rather angrily.

"As I watched you leave, I could see you were no longer the young man who had promised to marry me. It wasn't just the scar," she added shakily. "In your eyes, all the kindness, happiness, love that had been there just the day before had vanished. You were cold, bleak, and all had been replaced with anger and revenge. But I had marked myself as intended for you – it was already done," and she again showed him the brand upon her arm.

"But I loved you, Zuko," she whispered then. "I hadn't promised myself to you for nothing. You had told me to wait, and I intended to do so."

"So what happened? How long before you heard what had taken place after I left you that day?" the Prince asked her.

"Fairly quickly; I heard rumors among people all the way back here from the market. As for what happened…" she drifted off for a second, staring at the wall of the shed, rubbing the mark on her arm. She continued suddenly, "I tried to keep it a secret for as long as I could. I kept wearing long sleeves to hide the brand, but one day I was careless and let my sleeve slip. My mother saw immediately, then called for my father and forced me to show him."

It was chaos for a while there afterward. I was taken before the Fire Lord himself. But Zuko," she looked at him then, "I tried to convince them I had stolen your brand from the palace, had done this to myself to cause problems. But no one believed me…" her eyes were filling with tears again, "Anyone who knew us knew we never hid our affections for one another."

Zuko suddenly griped Marita's hand, but she pulled away, standing up. "But the matter was to be hushed up among all the people – nobility or not. Even though all had known you were gone, no one knew of this. In fact, even a few days later, young men began coming here again to call on me…"

"So you didn't wait for me!" Zuko cried. "You got on with your life only a few days after I was banished to exile!"

"No!" Marita cried in anguish. "No Zuko! They came, but I never encouraged any of them. And besides, once they all saw this mark, they turned away immediately. Eventually word got around and they stopped coming…"

"You're lying, I know it!" Zuko was in a frenzy of rage. "You promised, and then abandoned that promise all because of my father…"

"Couldn't I have hid the brand better when they came if I was lying? I purposely let them see it!" Marita then burst into tears. And to Zuko's surprise, buried her face into his chest, sobbing. "Zuko," she managed to say through all her tears, "because of your father…I told you I was banished as well…my family, he took away our nobility…and," she looked up into his face, "told me I could never marry you, even if you did return home one day."

He'd heard enough. Zuko swept his love into a firm embrace, whispering in her ear, "I will return, I don't know how long it will take, but I promise; I will return."

His Father and the Avatar had waited long enough.

The world had waited long enough. Although he'd ignored it a few days before, the request Aang had given him had to be fulfilled.

The Avatar would learn firebending.


End file.
